The Truth in the Lies
by DesolateHearts
Summary: Sakura accepts a mission before she knows exactly what it entails. As she gets wrapped up in all the truth that hides in the lies, an unexpected friend in the darkness helps her come to terms with the harsh reality that is her life. ItaSaku.
1. The Mission

She should have seen it coming. And Sakura knew that. She should have known that what she did would lead her here. But looking back, she couldn't bring herself to regret what brought her to be tied up and hand-cuffed with chakra suppressors, dragged along by those she used to call her comrades.

She glanced over at her accomplice, and reminded herself why she couldn't regret her decisions. The dark haired boy was bloody, and badly bruised. He was barely even conscious, stumbling as he was pushed along. His wounds were much worse than hers. She frowned slightly, remembering why he had those wounds, and why she couldn't prevent them, and why she couldn't heal them.

She glared over at the other dark haired boy. He _was_ unconscious, being carried along like a poor defenseless child. It was his fault that the four of them were in this predicament. Sakura was furious at him.

Looking back at the first boy, she realized that she couldn't regret anything. If she hadn't done what she had, she wouldn't have met him. Her friend. Her lover...

* * *

><p>Sakura laughed as she saw Naruto recover from her punch. He had flown into the air and landed flat on his ass. He was now rubbing his butt, and groaning.<p>

"You okay there?" Sakura called.

"Geez, Sakura-chan! You're gonna kill me one day, 'tebayo!" he shouted. Sakura laughed again.

"Well, you can worry about that later. Now, it's time to pay up."

"You're really gonna make me pay for you at Ichiraku?" Naruto shouted.

"Yup," Sakura smirked, "now c'mon."

She began walking towards the Ramen shop, and he followed closely behind. On the way they talked about things that were unimportant, but significant. The relationship the two of them shared was unique and perfect. They were just friends. They had tried being more than friends, but it didn't work out. And then, instead of being awkward with each other, they were even closer because they were past all the 'what if's'. They knew that all they could be were best friends.

When they arrived at Ichiraku, Naruto paid and the two ate, conversing over their every day life. Naruto talked about Hinata, and how much he was growing to like her. He talked about how Shikamaru was teaching him how to play shougi like a true strategist. He talked about the sparring sessions he was having with Sai and Kakashi and, of course, Sakura. Sakura didn't have much to say, so she just listened.

When Naruto left suddenly, ("Gotta go find Hinata, I need to tell her something...") Sakura decided to stay a little while longer. Her conversation with Naruto had reminded her of her dreariness of the monotonous routine she lived through every day at Konoha.

She had been feeling oddly bored since their last run in with Sasuke. He had tried to kill them. And though she hadn't expected him to be all rainbows and sunshine with her and Naruto after so long, it still hurt a little. So she decided to drop it with Sasuke. Naruto wouldn't give up on him, she could tell there was no hope, and even Tsunade had decided that it was useless.

Sakura hated that. The missions to rescue Sasuke had made her life unpredictable and interesting. But now, Akatsuki was on the look-out for Naruto, so he wasn't allowed to go out of the village. And since he was her teammate, she didn't get out much either. Sure, she was still needed as a medic, and in no way useless like she once was, but she was unbearably bored.

If only she could get out for a while.

Sakura stood motionless for a moment, thinking. Then, suddenly, she was surrounded. Having been caught off guard, Sakura instinctually reached for a kunai, but then she recognized the masks as Tsunade's personal ANBU.

"Sakura-san, the Hokage needs you to head to her office immediately."

Sakura nodded, and followed them to the Godaime's office. Tsunade didn't often call in the middle of the night, so this had to be important.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, sit down," Tsunade said.<p>

"What's this about, shishou?" Sakura asked, taking the seat in front of the Godaime's desk..

The Hokage hesitated. "I have a mission for you. It's by far the most important mission you will ever be assigned. It is also the most dangerous, and because of that, you may refuse this mission, right now. If you choose to accept it, there is no turning back. No matter what I assign you, you must do it."

Sakura thought for a moment. "You can't give me any details before I have to decide?"

Tsunade shook her head, "All I can tell you is that it will be very beneficial to Konoha... and may result in the capture of Sasuke."

Sakura frowned for a moment. She'd heard that one before. She wanted to refuse it, remembering her new found dislike of the Uchiha boy, but she owed it to Naruto. "I'll do it."

Tsunade smiled at her pupil, "Thank you, Sakura. You don't know how important this mission is."

"You're right, I don't," Sakura reminded her, "So... what will I be doing?"

Tsunade paused. "Sakura, I want you to go to Suna and help them develop an antidote for a poison they discovered."

"That doesn't sound so dangerous," Sakura mused.

"It's not," Tsunade admitted, "The dangerous part is that on your way there... you will be attacked by a member of Akatsuki, and you must allow him to capture you and bring you to their base."

Sakura gaped at the Hokage, "You want me to... what?" she shook her head, "You're joking!"

"I'm serious, Sakura," Tsunade said, "I've never been more serious. I want you to allow yourself to be captured by Akatsuki. From inside their head quarters, you can give us information on members, plans, progress on the jinchuuriki hunt. Things we haven't been informed of since we lost Jiriya's contact." The Hokage frowned. Jiriya's death had been hard on her.

Sakura stood from her seat in frustration, "But what the hell would Akatsuki want with me?"

"You're the best healer in Fire country," Tsunade said, "and perhaps in other countries as well. You've developed quite a reputation, especially with that last run-in with the Uchiha brat."

Sakura smiled a little. She had caused an land slide in Wind country. But that didn't matter right now. "And what, they're just supposed just expect me to heal their injuries? Like I would betray Konoha like that. They'd never buy it."

"They would, because they all believe you to be the scared little girl you once were," Tsunade challenged. "While you_ have_ changed, it's obvious you're still a very overly compassionate person. They will expect that and fear to be your downfall."

Sakura sat down. She had already accepted the mission, there was no turning back now. "How do you know that an Akatsuki member will attack me?"

"Because he arranged it with me," Tsunade told her.

Sakura was suddenly angry. "And how do you know it's not just a trick to take me hostage and lure Naruto out of the village? Honestly, shishou, how do you think he'll react once he knows?"

"I'll prevent him from leaving the village. His safety is just as important to me as it is to you, as the Hokage, and as his friend." Tsunade stood from behind her desk and walked over to Sakura, placing her hands on the young kunoichi's shoulders. "Sakura, you're the only person who I know can do this. Anyone else will be to focused on the story of a criminal to work with the ally underneath. And I know for a fact that you will not get yourself killed out there. I can't say the same for anyone else."

Sakura took a deep breath to compose herself. "When do I leave," she asked, defeated.

"Tomorrow morning," Tsunade back away to allow the pink-haired kunoichi to stand. She handed her a small scroll that had been sealed with chakra. "This is a communication scroll. Write what you wish to tell me, and when you surge your chakra through it, it will send the message to me on my scroll. Pack for a long trip, I don't know how long that poison will take to neutralize."

Sakura nodded and turned to leave.

"Sakura..."

She turned, and was locked in a bone crushing embrace from her shishou. Sakura hugged the woman back. Tsunade was practically her second mother, and they would miss each other dearly.

"You'll be briefed on exactly what your role is in this when you're captured," the Hokage informed, "You'll do wonderful, I'm certain."

Sakura smiled. "I just hope I'll be back soon."

Tsunade smiled as well. "You will be."

"Take care of Naruto for me," and then she was gone.

* * *

><p>Sakura packed for a long trip, just as Tsunade had requested. She packed for all types of climates at first, but then realized that it would blow her cover, and packed only for Suna's hot climate. She hoped the Akatsuki base wasn't in a wintery country.<p>

At one point, Sakura realized she was crying. She would be away from her friends, her family, her village for an indefinite amount of time. She needed to see Naruto. She didn't care if it was the middle of the night.

She headed out the door, only to be stopped by none-other-than Hatake Kakashi. "Yo," he greeted.

"Hey," she responded, "What's going on?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow morning, and I don't know when I'll be back" Sakura informed him, "I wanted to tell Naruto."

"Don't you think that's a little obvious?" Kakashi asked.

"What-"

"I know about your real mission," the Copy Ninja said stoically.

"Oh..."

"Running off to tell Naruto that you don't know how long it will take to neutralize a poison is practically asking him to realize what's going on."

Sakura looked down. "He's my best friend, I have to say good-bye..."

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder. "There will be some time in the morning."

Sakura smiled and threw her arms around her sensei. "Thank you, Kakashi."

Kakashi smiled through his mask. "You're welcome. See you, and come back to us in one piece."

Sakura nodded, "I will."

Kakashi left, and Sakura was alone again. She finished packing, and went to sleep, crying once more before it finally took her.

* * *

><p>"Naruto! Wake up and let me in!" Sakura banged on his door, usin all her self control to keep from knocking it down. She had brought all of her packaged ramen with her, knowing it would be a while before she could use them, and figuring Naruto wouldn't have a problem finishing them off.<p>

"Coming, Sakura-chan!" Naruto finally opened the door, "It's way too early, dattebayo!"

Sakura walked in, without Naruto's permission and was greeted by quite an interesting sight.

"Is that _Hinata_?" she asked, pointing to the blue haired kunoichi passed out on the couch.

Naruto blushed scarlet. Sakura just smiled, dropped the Ramen on a table and threw her arms around her best friend. Naruto hugged back, giddy as a teenage girl.

"Finally!" Sakura exclaimed, waking Hinata. She let go, and greeted Hinata, who turned just as scarlet as Naruto. "I'm going on a mission today. Don't know when I'll be back so I brought you these," she gestured towards the ramen, "so they don't go to waste."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks, Saura-chan... I thought you were confined to the village."

Sakura had thought this through the night before, "I'm creating an antidote for a poison in Suna. Apparently it's a very difficult one," She shrugged, "They need me."

Naruto accepted this answer, hugged the pink haired kunoichi one last time, and wished her a good trip. Sakura held in tears as she said good bye, and left, with a final 'congratulations' about the two shinobi's new relationship.

Sakura walked to the front gates, turning back to look at her home one last time, and left for Suna.

* * *

><p>A day had passed since Sakura had left Konoha, and now she was walking, rather than running, in the direction of Suna. She felt an impending sense of doom as she walked, knowing that she was about to be thrown into the most dangerous situation she'd ever been in her life.<p>

Suddenly she felt it. Not chakra, but someone's presence. A person who obviously knew how to disguise themselves, because Sakura could not locate him. But she didn't have to, because a second later, he stepped out into the open.

Sakura's eyes widened, and her heart rate speed up. She had not expected this, although thinking back it should have been obvious. She wanted to run, she had an intense desire to fight, but she couldn't move, paralyzed by fear of the man who stood before her.

"Uchiha Itachi..." she whispered.

The Uchiha nodded, stepping forward, and Sakura realized he was not alone too late. She was struck by a force hard enough to knock her out instantly, but avoided in enough to remain conscious.

She probed herself, noting two broken ribs, and located the source of the blow. Hoshigake Kisame was there, his sword, Samehada, unwrapped and covered in her chakra. She realized that she didn't have enough chakra to fight, or even to heal her ribs, and swore under her breath. Itachi had been a distraction, of course. That's why she felt his presence, and not the shark-nin's.

"I heard that!" Kisame bellowed, "Come on Itachi, Tsukiyomi her and lets take her ass back to the base." Kisame walked past the Uchiha in the direction of what Sakura assumed was the base, and Itachi stepped forward.

Sakura ran. She knew it was to no avail, but she couldn't fight her instincts, orders be damned. Itachi caught her quickly, throwing her to the ground (which broke another rib) and grabbing hold of her throat. She pushed him off of her, and quickly jumped back, smashing her foot into the ground to cause a fissure to open up beneath the Uchiha's feet.

He followed her, his face betraying nothing but calmness, and soon they were engaged in a fierce battle of taijutsu. Sakura threw a fist at his face, which he dodged easily, lashing out with his leg to get her off balance. She quickly regained her equilibrium and struck again, this time with her knee. It connected with his groin, much to her pleasure, but he didn't react. He grabbed her ankle, fracturing the bone, and spun it so that she was facing away from him, then he knocked her other foot of the ground, causing her to fall forward. She sprained her wrist, trying to catch herself, and quickly turned, only to be kicked in the stomach. She coughed, blood escaping her lips, and tried to catch her breath.

In this moment of weakness, Itachi picked her up by her shirt. She looked away, knowing what would happen. He took hold of her chin, forcing her face to look at his, but she kept her eyes closed.

"You know you have to let this happen," Itachi whispered, and Sakura, defeated, finally lifted her eyelids to stare into the dark crimson Mangekyou sharingan, and was instantly unconscious.

Itachi knew that a few ribs had to be broken, with Kisame's blow to her back, and his harsh throw to the ground, so he placed his arms under her legs and lifted her, carrying her that way to prevent any further damage.

Kisame was already on his way back to the base, but Itachi caught up quickly. Kisame smirked at him. "Tougher than she looks, ain't she?"

Itachi nodded, "As expected of the Godaime's apprentice." He looked at her. She was barely more than a child, perhaps nineteen, and she had given him quite a real struggle. Especially her last little 'knee-to-the-groin' move. She was a warrior of sorts to last that long against him, but in her unconscious state, he saw the innocence of her short life. This mission would ruin her. Suddenly, Itachi decided to figure out a way to keep her as pure as possible throughout this ordeal. She reminded him of a younger Sasuke. Even a younger version of himself. But mostly, she reminded him of...


	2. The Truth

Sakura awoke in a strange dark room. She was not alone, but she didn't want to open her eyes and find out who the other five members of the room were.

"Kunoichi," Itachi's velvet voice called, "I know you are awake."

She opened her eyes to glare at him, and she caught a tiny smirk on his lips before deciding to look around the room. There was nothing in this room. Nothing but a chair, which she occupied. Only one door, she noticed, leading to the rest of whatever this place was.

She looked around at the occupants of the room. Itachi was to the left of her. In front of her there were two figures, one with shocking orange hair and multiple piercings on his face, the other with soft blue hair and a calm expression. Kisame was to her right, grinning his shark like teeth at her. Sakura looked around, searching for the final presence.

Finally, she noticed a little girl, no more than six, behind Itachi. She resembled Sasuke, Sakura thought, with her long hair so black it was blue, and those dark chocolate eyes. Sakura stared at her with horror. Had she been kidnapped? Tsunade was right, they had anticipated her compassion. She would tell them almost anything to save that child

She turned to the leader and glared at him. "You're a sick man if you think torturing that little girl will get answers out of me," she bluffed.

Itachi turned to the child. "Leave us," he said, his voice soft and, Sakura thought, strangely kind. The little shook her head. "Now, Tsuki."

"I wanna see," the girl - Tsuki - argued, pouting. Itachi walked over to her, and they began a whispered argument that ultimately ended in Tsuki pushing Itachi - Sakura was surprised to see him stagger a little - and leaving the room angrily.

"Haruno Sakura," this time it was the leader who spoke, "You have been brought here to serve us as our personal medic. You do not have a choice, and will be killed the instant you do not comply. Is that understood?"

Sakura nodded, an honest expression of fear and shock flooding her face.

"Then we are done here. You are to stay under the watchful eye of Uchiha Itachi at all times. Including the night, meaning you will not be granted your own room. You have no say in this."

Sakura looked horrified. She turned to the Uchiha, trying to get across to him that this was not mentioned to her in her mission brief. He didn't react.

"Leave us," the leader instructed, repeating what the Uchiha had said to the little girl. Itachi grabbed hold of Sakura's arm and led her out through the only door. The leader and the blue-haired kunoichi stayed inside, and Sakura guessed that there was more to that room than met the eye.

They entered a new room, the common room it looked like. There were multiple hallways, and the door that led to the first room. There were also a few couches, and a bookshelf absolutely packed with books. Sakura made a note to try to read as many as possible, but was distracted when she saw the little girl waiting anxiously for them.

"She's not gonna die, is she? I like her. She's pretty," the little girl said, as if Sakura was not there.

"No," Itachi replied. Tsuki beamed up at him, and Sakura was shocked to see Itachi give her a tiny smile.

"Cute," Kisame said sarcastically. "Let me know if you need any help with her chakra." Itachi nodded and Kisame left, patting Tsuki on the head before going down a hall that must lead to his room.

"Go to your room," Itachi instructed the child. She pouted at him, but didn't argue. She turned to leave, but then remembered something and came running up to Itachi. She reached into her pocket and handed him a paper shuriken.

"Konan taught me how to make these! I made one for you. It can be your good luck charm!" The child grinned, obviously proud of herself. Itachi nodded and put it in a pocket inside of his robe.

Tsuki turned to Sakura. "I don't know you, but here," she handed another paper shuriken to the kunoichi. "I'll just make another one for Deidara. Can I go give Kisame his before I go to my room?"

Itachi nodded.

"Thanks, Father!" and she ran off.

If Itachi hadn't been holding on to Sakura, she would have fallen to her knees in shock. "Gods," she whispered.

Itachi quickly pulled her in the direction of his room, Sakura limping after him. He went down a hallway that branched off into two corridors. He took the left and entered a room at the end of the hall. Once they were inside he let go of Sakura and she finally broke.

"You have a child!" She yelled. It wasn't a question, but Itachi nodded. "How old is she?"

"Six."

But Sakura didn't really care. "How could you be so irresponsible! You're in Akatsuki! You can't raise a child! How is she supposed to socialize in this place? What were you thinking! How could you just-"

"I was forced," Itachi said in a much louder voice than usual. "If I didn't conceive a child, her mother would have been killed on my behalf."

"Where is her mother now?" Sakura asked.

"Dead," Itachi answered.

"Nicely avoided," Sakura scoffed at him.

"If I didn't kill her, she would have killed Tsuki," He defended.

"So? What do you care? Wouldn't that have been better than letting the poor child live here?"

Itachi suddenly had Sakura pinned to a wall by her throat. "No," He answered, glaring openly at the kunoichi.

Sakura flinched. There was pure, raw anger in his eyes, and it was directed solely at her. She was terrified. He would kill her, she just knew it. But somehow, she was distracted from her fear by a crazy thought. She would have laughed, if her throat hadn't been constricted. Instead, she just choked out her thought.

"Do you love her?"

Itachi waited a moment before letting go of Sakura and stepping back. "Yes," he answered.

Sakura was amazed the Uchiha's iron will-power. He had gone from absolutely furious, to calm in a matter of seconds.

"Heal yourself," he ordered softly.

Sakura huffed, "I can't," She told him.

"Why not?"

"Because your freaky shark friend drained all my chakra, asshole," she muttered the last word, but she knew he had heard it. She was testing her limits, she knew, especially after almost being choked to death a minute ago.

Itachi stared at her. "Sit," he finally said.

Sakura finally looked around the room. It was rather large, for the room of a single man, but that didn't surprise her. The Akatsuki _were_ s-class criminals, with s-class paychecks, after all. There was a little desk, next to a door that lead to the bathroom on the west wall. On the east there was a comfortable looking chair and a closet. She almost laughed at the toys littered all over the floor. But what she noticed most was that there was only one bed.

"Where do I sleep?" she asked, tentatively.

Itachi smirked, "The idea of sharing a bed with me isn't appealing to you?" Sakura gaped at him. Was he messing with her? "I will set up a cot."

Sakura frowned. That would be a good nights sleep, what with the broken ribs and uneven 'bed'. "Great," she muttered, sitting down at the desk. Itachi took a seat in the chair and began the most revealing story Sakura had ever heard.

"The first thing you need to understand if we are to work together is that I did not kill my entire clan to test my limits, as I have told my brother. I did it on orders."

"Orders?"

"Konoha's orders..."

Sakura gasped, agitating her broken ribs. "No," she whispered.

Itachi nodded and continued, "My clan was planning an uprising to take over the village. The Hokage was to be murdered, and my father would take his place as leader of the village. I was in the inner circle of my clan, and when I heard of this, I immediately informed the Hokage. After much debate among the elders, they decided the best plan of action was to destroy the Uchiha clan. It was mostly Danzou who pushed for that... but the others agreed easily enough.

"I was ordered to do it. Alone. And afterwards, I'm positive that Danzou would have sent for me to be murdered as well... If I hadn't met with Uchiha Madara."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Uchiha Madara?"

"The true leader, and founder of Akatsuki," Itachi revealed. Sakura was too surprised to react further, and Itachi continued. "He ended up doing most of the work to kill my clan... I won't go into details but that night Sasuke was not supposed to be home until late. I never intended him to see me kill the clan, nor did I ever plan to end his life. I wanted to find him after the massacre, and take him far away from the village. I wanted to save him from that horrible village... from becoming like me."

Sakura was touched. He really was a good big brother, despite the hard exterior. Maybe he _was_ suited to raise a child.

"I begged the Hokage to allow Sasuke to live, and when he agreed, I left the village with Madara to join Akatsuki. I played with Sasukes emotions so that he would train hard, and become the best shinobi there is. I wanted him to leave the village to come find me. I didn't plan on him joining Orochimaru. I didn't plan on him betraying our village."

Sakura just stared at him, while he stared at some point above her head. "What about Tsuki?"

"Orochimaru got his body switching technique from Madara. Madara had intended me to be his new body, but when he discovered I was going blind, he ordered me to father a child."

"How old were you?" Sakura asked.

"Nineteen."

Sakura gaped at him. "I'm nineteen," she said, "I couldn't imagine... being _forced_ to... do something like that." She blushed at the disgusting thought Inner Sakura had brought up of Itachi.

Itachi smirked at her blush, but quickly returned to his blank expression. "When Tsuki was born, her mother, a shinobi of rain, ran off with her. I should have let them go, but Madara told me that she planned to kill the child, and... I went after them. Looking back, I realize that Madara probably told me that to manipulate me."

Sakura waited a few moments before speaking. "Is she named after the Tsukiyomi?" she asked, chuckling.

Itachi nodded. "I'm not very creative." Sakura laughed. Another minute passed before Itachi began speaking again. "Get whatever you're using to relay information to the Hokage," Sakura did, "I'm about to tell you more about all of Akatsuki's members than you could learn from any bingo book. More than the Akatsuki members believe I know. Ready?"

Sakura scrambled for the scroll, and something to write with, and Itachi began. Sakura's mind was being blown by all of the crazy information she was getting, but she had to keep writing. There was no time for any reaction. She learned about the Samehada and it's chakra eating abilities. She learned that Hidan - who Shikamaru had supposedly killed - was still alive to due his religion, Jashinism. She learned that the blond one that had kidnapped Garra, Deidara, had hands on his mouths, and was the only one of his blood limit. She learned that Zetsu was just a creeper, and could move through the ground at crazy speeds, nearly undetected. She learned that Pein, the leader, had six forms of himself, and Konan, the girl, was practically made of paper. Finally, she learned that the real leader of Akatsuki was Uchiha Madara, and that he had been around for nearly a hundred and twenty years. When Itachi was done, Sakura had filled nearly the entire scroll.

"And what about you?" Sakura asked, realizing she had no information on him.

"The Hokage knows all about me," Itachi answered.

"Wait," Sakura took a second to put the pieces together. "You were Jiriya's contact," the Uchiha nodded, "so Tsunade knew you were the one who was going to abduct me," another nod, "And she didn't _tell me_!" Sakura was furious. Beyond furious. So mad, she was seeing red. "Why would she leave something like that out?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Perhaps if you knew it was me you were dealing with, you would not have agreed to such a mission," Itachi observed.

Sakura huffed, "She made me agree before I even knew what the mission was. I was screwed from the moment I said yes. She could have told that Zetsu guy was going to get me, and I still would have gone."

Itachi shrugged. "Did you not even guess it might be me?"

"I was to busy being horrified at the thought of allowing myself to be taken hostage."

"I'm the only Konoha shinobi in Akatsuki."

"Good point... I guess I should have figured it out."

"And did the Hokage not mention my plan to rescue Sasuke?"

Sakura gasped.

_All I can tell you is that it will be very beneficial to Konoha... and may result in the capture of Sasuke._

"I really should have known."

"Yes," Itachi agreed, making eye contact with the kunoichi, "You should have."

Sakura glared at his blatant insult, then jumped when there was a tiny knock on the door.

"Come in," Itachi called, continuing to look at Sakura.

Sakura turned to the door and saw Tsuki walk in. The little girl ran to her fathers side without a word. Itachi picked her up, knowingly patting her back, and she put her arms around his neck.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, noticing that the girl was very afraid.

"Zetsu's back," Tsuki told her.

"Zetsu is the only Akatsuki member that Tsuki is afraid of," Itachi explained, "He likes to threaten to eat her."

"That's horrible," Sakura fussed. Itachi only nodded.

"He says that if Father ever leaves Akatsuki, or dies, he'll eat me alive," Tsuki told Sakura, "Which is ridiculous, because he _won't_ die, and when Father leaves, he's taking me with him."

Sakura didn't miss that Tsuki said 'when' not 'if'. She looked at Itachi for answers, but he only shook his head. 'Later,' he mouthed. Sakura nodded.

"I'm Tsuki," the little girl introduced herself, remembering that Sakura was a stranger.

"I'm Sakura," the kunoichi responded.

"I heard about you," Tsuki realized, "Father says you're a medic! Can you teach me?"

Sakura laughed, "Of course, as soon as you can control your chakra."

Tsuki pouted, "I can control my chakra! Watch!" The child fought to get out of Itachi's arms, but Itachi held on to her.

"Not now, Tsuki," Itachi insisted, "Lets go to your room."

"Can I sleep in here tonight?" the little girl asked.

Itachi shook his head. "Not tonight," he whispered, "Sakura and I have much to discuss."

Itachi shot Sakura a look that said 'stay here' before leaving to drop Tsuki off at her room. When he returned they stared at each other for a while.

"I know I'm not the best father," Itachi admitted, "but I'm all she has."

Sakura suddenly ran up to Itachi and threw her arms around his neck. Itachi tensed, thinking for a second she was about to attack, but allowed her to hug him.

"This is unnecessary," Itachi stated.

Sakura didn't respond. She was in a little pain due to her unhealed injuries, but he needed someone to care about him. All he had in his life was a little brother who hated him, a crazy great great uncle or something who wanted to use him as a vessel for his own soul, and a little girl who couldn't understand what kind of pain he had to be in.

Sakura had hated him, not five minutes ago, but now all she wanted was to give this boy a friend. Someone he could rely on to understand what he was going through.

Slowly, and with much hesitation, Itachi wrapped his arms around her. Sakura flinched when he touched her back, but other than that didn't move. They stayed there, wrapped in each others arms, until Sakura couldn't ignore the pain, and backed away.

Itachi let her go. "You should have enough chakra to heal yourself in the morning. Send that to the Hokage."

"I thought we had more to discuss," Sakura pointed out, remmbering what he had told Tsuki.

"We do," Itachi answered.

"Oh," Sakura got the hint. Not everything she was told needed to be told to the Hokage. Right now, Itachi just needed her to know the truth. She made the appropriate hand signs and sent the message to the Hokage. She wondered how long it would take to get back to Konoha. She turned to Itachi expectantly. He had set up a cot next to his bed while she was busy.

"Lie down," he ordered.

"Seriously?" Sakura asked. He gave he a look that told her not to argue, and Sakura limped over to the cot and laid down. "I don't even get a blanket?" she questioned.

"You're a kunoichi, you should be used to it."

She was, but she still liked little luxuries. "Fine," she said, defeated.

"Now, about Sasuke," Itachi began, and Sakura's insides tensed. She had not been looking forward to figuring out how they were going to save that asshole.

Itachi noticed her expression, but continued anyway. "He is after me, actively searching for me. I am going to use your capture to lure him to me."

"For a battle?" Sakura asked.

"Yes... but not to the death," he clarified, "I will reveal to him what really happened that night, and if he believes me, he and I will work together to defeat him."

"And what if he kills you first?" Sakura asked, knowing that it was a very real possibility.

"Then you will have to tell him," Itachi answered.

Sakura laughed, "Right, cause he'll listen to me."

"He will."

Sakura was a little taken aback by his certainty. "And how will he defeat Madara?"

"With your help."

"Yeah, right. Because he'll totally accept my help," Sakura sighed. "And what about Tsuki?"

Itachi didn't answer for a long time, and Sakura almost thought he wouldn't. But he did, "She's been ready to lose me since she was two."

That almost broke Sakura. She fought back the tears, knowing that if she were to let herself cry, she would disturb her already throbbing ribs. Sakura couldn't imagine how hard that must be on the little girl. To constantly be afraid that your own father wouldn't return.

"Madara is looking for another woman to bear my child," he admitted, "And Tsuki knows what he plans to do to her if the woman bears a son. She is prepared to die."

And that threw Sakura over the edge. She cried, holding nothing back. As she had anticipated, her sobs were painful, and she had to hug herself to ease the pain. Itachi watched her.

"You shouldn't cry, kunoichi," he said.

"But I will," Sakura responded, "You won't, Sasuke wouldn't, and Tsuki won't, so I will. Because you deserve to be cried over, Itachi! Your story is sad, and known by so few... It's not fair."

"The life of a shinobi is not fair," Itachi challenged.

Sakura cried for the rest of the night until sleep took her, and then she cried in her sleep. Itachi watched her until she stopped, unable to sleep with her in such distress. He walked over to her, knelt next to the cot and brushed a tear off of her face. Surprised at himself, he quickly rose and climbed into his bed. He didn't sleep that night, too disturbed by his own actions.


	3. Other Intents

Sakura was awaken the next morning by Itachi.

"Do you have enough chakra to heal yourself?" he asked.

"Good morning to you too," she retorted. She tested her chakra levels, and frowned when she realized that they weren't full. "Damn," she muttered.

"What?"

"I didn't eat yesterday," she answered, "I have just enough chakra to heal my ribs and my ankle."

Itachi stood and walked towards the door. "Stay here and heal yourself as much as you can, I'll be back with food."

She nodded, and began to do just that.

"Kunoichi," he interrupted her thoughts, "you should probably clean up as well."

She blushed a little, "Shut up," she muttered. He smirked and left.

She quickly got to work healing herself. She took care of the ribs first, then worked on her ankle. It only took her about ten minutes, but it drained her a lot. She didn't feel like getting up and washing, but she knew she had to.

The bathroom was small, and Sakura noticed that there were no luxuries. Not even a bath tub. She sighed, realizing she would have to stand in the shower. She undressed, stepped in and turned on the water, shivering as the cold liquid poured over her naked skin. She stood there washing for another ten minutes, thinking about what she had gotten herself into.

She was surely not welcome here. She had killed one of them. Her hand lingered on a scar just above her navel. Sasori had almost killed her as well. If Chiyo-san had not been there, she would not be in this situation.

She shook her head, willing herself not to think about it. She stepped out of the shower and dressed, then left the bathroom to wait for Itachi.

While she was waiting, she heard a knock at the door. "Sakura-chan?" she heard a little girl call.

"Come in," Sakura welcomed, wondering if she had that right.

Tsuki entered, smiling at the kunoichi. "Good morning!" she greeted, running to Sakura's side. "Father has requested I keep you company until he returns with food."

Sakura smiled. "Where's he getting the food?" she asked, trying to make conversation with the girl.

"The kitchen," Tsuki answered.

Sakura frowned, "Does it usually take this long?"

"No."

Sakura waited. "What's keeping him?" she pressed, when she realized she wasn't going to get an answer.

"He's talking with _Madara_." Sakura didn't miss the disgust in her innocent little voice.

"What about?" Sakura asked.

Tsuki shrugged. "Probably you."

Sakura looked astonished. "Why?"

"_Madara_ wants my father to have a little boy. Maybe he wants you to be the mom?" she mused.

Sakura blushed. She prayed to all the gods that the conversation taking place between the Uchiha's was not about her.

* * *

><p>But it was. Itachi and Madara stood on the roof, arguing in whispered voices.<p>

"She is a hostage, not a whore," Itachi explained.

"There can be little to no difference between the two," Madara jested, "You don't mean to tell me you haven't had one thought about her in that way?"

"I have not."

"Hmm," Madara tilted his head to the side, "Interesting. That can mean one of two things. Either you've got the willpower of a monk, or you actually care for your former comrade!"

Itachi glared. "No, I simply refuse to drop to that level. I will not take advantage of a vulnerable girl who is already in a stressful situation."

Madara sighed. "What a shame."

Suddenly, Itachi doubled over in pain. He coughed up a little blood. When he regained his composure, he glared at Madara, who was nonchalantly spinning a bloody kunai on his finger.

"You should know by now that disloyalty will not be tolerated. You have one year to conceive a son. I don't care if it's with her or anyone else, but it must happen," the older Uchiha grinned sadistically, "Or your precious daughter will pay for it."

Itachi didn't respond.

"Itachi, Itachi," Madara clicked his tongue, "I'm only trying to help you. We need to rebuild our clan!"

"Our clan that you destroyed," Itachi retorted.

"_We,_ Itachi. We destroyed out clan. In order to create a more obedient and loyal clan. We could not simply take over the clan, and hope that they complied. We had to start fresh."

Itachi continued to glare.

Madara smirked at him. "One year," he reminded, "My patience with the body is running thin."

Madara walked past him, leaving Itachi alone on the roof.

* * *

><p>"So how old are you, Tsuki?" Sakura asked.<p>

"Six," the little girl answered.

Sakura had been asking the little girl questions since she realized she wasn't going to get much out of her about Madara.

"Does your Dad train with you?"

"Yes."

"Do you like training?"

"Yes."

"Do the other members of Akatsuki train with you?"

"Kisame and Deidara do."

"Do you have a favorite Akatsuki member?"

"Yes."

Sakura almost laughed. Tsuki was exactly like her father, despite the obvious happiness. If you asked her a question, she would tell you the answer. No details, no fluff. Just what you needed to know.

"And who would that be?" the kunoichi pressed.

But she never got an answer, because at that moment Itachi came into the room.

Tsuki jumped off of the bed where she was sitting with Sakura, and went to greet her father. She suddenly stopped, and Sakura couldn't tell if it was because of the furious look on his face, or the blood that began to pool around him. Probably the latter.

"To your room," Itachi ordered her, and she left quickly and without a word. Itachi walked to the bed - where Sakura sat, to shocked to move - and sat down facing away from the kunoichi.

"What happened?" Sakura asked after a few minutes. He didn't answer

Sakura got off of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She came out with a damp towel and walked over to Itachi. "Lie down," She ordered, and to her surprise, he did. She opened his cloak, and went to pull up his shirt before he grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm healing you to the best of my abilities without chakra," Sakura explained, "but if you want to bleed to death, be my guest."

She tried to pull free of his grasp, but he only tighten his hold. She glared at him before going at it with the other hand, but he grabbed that one too.

"Dammit, Itachi!"

Suddenly, she used a little bit of the chakra she had to break free of his grasp, and grab his wrists. She pinned the to his side, and straddled the Uchiha so that he couldn't move them. She noticed the hitch in his breathing, but she was in medic mode, and couldn't care less if she was making him uncomfortable.

"Now let me see," she ordered, finally lifting his bloody black shirt. She gasped. What she saw was not one, but twelve wounds that she saw were from stabs from a kunai. "Who did this?" she asked.

"Madara..."

She nodded. "I have to heal it, or you're going to bleed out," She shrugged off his cloak, then grabbed a kunai from his leg strap, "Hope this isn't your favorite shirt," she thought aloud, before cutting the fabric and shrugging it off as well.

Somehow, it never crossed her mind that she was now straddling a half naked, very attractive Uchiha Itachi.

She grabbed the wet towel and cleaned the wounds. Then she placed her hands on his abdomen, allowing her chakra to flood from her hands to his stomach.

"What are you doing?" Itachi questioned, "You don't have enough chakra. You're going to pass out."

"I don't give a shit, Uchiha," Sakura asserted, "I'm not gonna let you die."

"Why not?" Itachi pressed.

Sakura thought for a moment. "Because if you die, there's nothing to stop them from killing me."

"You hesitated."

"Because I don't want you to die, dammit!" Sakura snapped, "It doesn't matter _why_, all that matters is that I'm not gonna let it happen, now shut up!" Sakura closed her eyes, attempting to concentrate. She knew that what Itachi said was true. She didn't have enough chakra, and she would pass out. She could already feel the last reserves of her chakra running out.

Itachi pulled his hands from under her knees, and she cursed inwardly. He was going to stop her.

But he didn't. Instead, he put his hands on hers, and allowed his own chakra to leak into her hands. Sakura realized what he was doing, and quickly began to channel his chakra into her own.

With his help, she was able to completely heal him, and remain conscious. She got off of him, and stood beside the bed. "Go shower," she ordered, "Careful not to strain your abdominals. They're probably sore-"

Itachi grabbed her arm and spun her to look at him. Sakura hadn't noticed him stand up, but there he was, shirtless, standing over her like a lion over its prey, staring at her with dark crimson eyes. "I don't care that you and I are loyal to the same village, we are not comrades."

Sakura glared at him, and yanked her arm away from him. "Think what you will, Itachi. In some weird, unexpected way, we kinda _are_ comrades. I wouldn't stick my neck out for you, but if I can do something after the fact, I will, and I'll be damned before I let another leaf shinobi die on my watch. _Especially_ a father."

Itachi stared at her for a few more seconds before leaving to the bathroom. Sakura didn't realize that she was holding her breath until he was gone. She looked around the room. There was a trail of blood on the floor leading from the door to the bed, and the bed was stained as well. She wondered if the mattress was covered in blood stains, but didn't venture to find out.

Instead, she grabbed the wet towel and cleaned up as much of the blood as she could. She got all of it off of the floor, and quite a bit of it out of the bed, but then she found herself battling her eyelids.

The healing had taken a toll on Sakura. She was already tired from healing her own wounds, and before Itachi lent her a hand, she had depleted even more chakra. She walked over to the other side of the bed - the side without a puddle of blood - and laid down.

_Just a quick nap,_ she thought, and then fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Itachi stepped out of the bathroom - still shirtless, but clean - and saw the sleeping kunoichi. He stared at her, amazed by the innocence hidden behind her rough attitude.

The deadly assassin gently touched her cheek. Once again, he had put himself out of his comfort zone. He pulled back his hand, and she murmured something unintelligibly in her sleep.

Itachi didn't understand his behavior around her. Why had he allowed her to position herself so rudely on top of him? Why hadn't he just let the girl wear herself out and pass out? Why did he use his own chakra to help her?

Itachi came to the conclusion that it was his fatherly instincts. Tsuki liked her, so he wanted to make sure she didn't overexert and injure herself. That's right, it was all because of Tsuki.

_Yes, it's all Tsuki's doing, _he thought, remembering what Sakura had said.

_'I'll be damned before I let another leaf shinobi die on my watch. Especially a father.'_

He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind of such hypnotisms, and walked to the door.

The Uchiha looked back at the pink haired kunoichi once more, before leaving to comfort Tsuki, whom he assumed was beside herself with anxiety.


	4. Crossed Lines

Sakura awoke. She was still on the bed, but she was now on new clean linens. She wondered how Itachi had maneuvered that without waking her, but then remembered who he was, and thought nothing of it.

She sat up and looked around. A few hours had passed, and it was now midday. She shifted her gaze from the window to the chair, and smiled at what she saw.

Itachi sat there reading, with a sleeping Tsuki cradled up against him. She wondered what it would be like to have a little girl who loved you unconditionally. A girl to cuddle up with at night. She had never wanted kids before, but the sight of the mass murderer and his daughter changed her mind.

Suddenly, she thought of what it would be like to be wrapped up in Uchiha Itachi's arms.

She shook her head. She couldn't be thinking about him that way. This mission was already complicated enough.

"There's food on the desk," Itachi informed her. Sakura smiled and got out of the bed.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, walking to the desk.

"Five hours," Itachi answered.

She sighed. "Great impression I'm making," she said sarcastically, before sitting to eat. He had gotten her a salad, to her dismay, but at least there was some toast. She took a bite of the bread and looked over at Itachi. "Are you reading my medic journal?" she asked, noticing the all to familiar notebook.

Itachi nodded. "It's interesting. You are very intelligent."

Sakura was shocked. Uchiha Itachi had just complimented her. "Thanks," she replied. She wolfed down the rest of her salad, and stood up. She looked at Tsuki. "Isn't it a bit early for her to be asleep?"

"Yes," Itachi agreed, "but she's had a rough morning."

Sakura frowned, "What happened?" Itachi looked at her. "Oh, right."

He returned to the journal. "She's not really asleep, though."

Sakura laughed when Tsuki opened her eyes to glare at him. "You never fall for it!" she pouted, then turning to Sakura, "Did you believe it?"

Sakura smiled at her. "You had me fooled," she admitted.

Tsuki beamed at her. The little girl jumped out of her fathers arms and ran to Sakura, hugging her legs. Sakura was taken aback, but put a hand on the child's back.

"Thank's for healing Father," the tiny Uchiha said, "It's nice to have a medic around!"

Sakura smiled. "Well I'm glad that I could help."

The moment was ruined my a harsh knock at the door.

"Itachi!" Kisame called from behind the door, "Deidara and I are going to train."

Tsuki gasped in excitement, and ran to open the door. Kisame walked in and looked at the older Uchiha. "You in?"

Itachi looked at Sakura. "Stay here," he ordered.

"What?" the kunoichi questioned incredulously, "No! I wanna see! I'm prisoner here, I may as well watch _other_ people have fun."

"Yeah!" Tsuki said, mimicing Sakura's angry tone, "Let her come with us, Father!"

Itachi glared at the little girl, but she stood proudly, glaring right back. Sakura almost laughed. Itachi looked at Kisame.

The shark-nin shrugged. " I don't mind. Hell, it might even be fun to spar with her. See what she can do."

Itachi glared at him for a moment before giving up. "Fine," he said, defeated, "she may accompany us."

Sakura smirked at his loss in this little battle. Tsuki absolutely beamed.

"Let's go then," Kisame responded, "Samehada's getting bored." He left, Tsuki following after him. Sakura went to leave, but was stopped by Itachi.

He grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. She stared into his red eyes, a little afraid. "If you cause any trouble," Itachi warned, "Kisame _will_ drain all of your chakra, and it will stay depleted."

Sakura was a little shocked. "What's your problem with me?" she accused.

Those red eyes narrowed a fraction. "I have no problem," and with that, he let her go and walked out of the room. Sakura caught her breath, then ran to catch up to him.

* * *

><p>Sakura laughed out loud when she saw the blond Akatsuki land flat on his ass. It reminded her of her times with Naruto, only Deidara had long hair, and she wasn't as subtle as Itachi.<p>

Deidara stood immediately, red in the face from anger and strain.

"I win," Itachi stated.

Sakura saw Deidara's face twitch. "I noticed, yeah" he retorted. He stormed off and, much to the kunoichi's surprise, sat down by Sakura. He looked at her, obviously thinking hard.

"You killed Sasori," he said plainly.

Sakura glared at him, "You kidnapped Gaara, helped suck a demon out of him, killing him in the process, then used his corpse as a fucking couch," she countered.

Deidara nodded, "Fair enough." They both stared off at Itachi and Tsuki. The two Uchiha's were about to spar using only taijutsu. Sakura was more than excited to see it. She wanted to see just how much the little Uchiha had learned.

"I call truce," Deidara interupted her thoughts, "The Kazekage's not dead, and Sasori died an artistic death. All's well that ends well," He looked at her. "I'm Deidara."

"I know," Sakura replied, not ready to accept his truce yet.

Deidara frowned at her. "And your name is...?"

Sakura glanced at him, annoyed. "Sakura," she finally said, holding out her hand.

"I don't shake hands," he refused.

The kunoichi glared at him. "_You're_ the one who called for a truce, and you won't even shake my hand?"

Deidara glared back, "In case you didn't realize, it's a little awkward for me." He held up his palm, and the mouth stuck it's tongue out.

"Oh," Sakura remembered, "Right. Mouths on the hands." Inner Sakura was having a field day, but Sakura kept her composure.

Tsuki and Itachi had begun. Sakura was surprised to see the little girl putting up a fight. Every strike was parried, and she actually managed to get a hit or two in. Itachi was obviously going easy on her, but Sakura knew that even on easy, Itachi was a difficult opponent.

Itachi picked up the speed of his blows, and Tsuki attempted to match it. However, Itachi ultimately got the upper hand at one point, and was pushing Tsuki backwards with his attacks. She blocked most of them, and dodged the rest, until finally Itachi managed to land a blow under her chin, knocking her up in the air. She flipped herself around in mid-air (Sakura's jaw dropped at the sight of such a skilled move from a six year old) and landed roughly, scraping her knees and palms. She tried to recover as quickly as possible, but Itachi was faster and he kicked her back in the stomach as soon as she stood up, sending her flying back.

Sakura's instincts kicked in then. She ran to Tsuki, catching her to soften her fall, then set her down and immediately ran her chakra through the girl to check her for injuries. She was pleased to notice that her chakra levels had been nearly completely restored.

Tsuki was a little taken aback by Sakura's actions, but realized quickly that she liked the feeling of... whatever it was.

Sakura smiled at the little girl. "You got yourself a tough set of ribs. Not one broken bone!"

"You think I would hit my child hard enough to break something?" Itachi asked from behind her. He was offended, Sakura could tell.

"You were sparring with her, not abusing her. Broken ribs are just a shinobi thing," she clarified, "Naruto and I break stuff all the time."

She frowned suddenly, remembering her friend. How was he? Was he worried about her? Had he tried to leave the village in search of her?

Tsuki noticed the kunoichi's expression change, and tried to change the subject. "Can you show me how to heal these?" she asked, refering to the scrapes on her knees and palms.

Sakura smiled, genuine and bright. "Sure," she agreed, "First, it needs to be cleaned. Let's go back to Itachi's room." Sakura stood, Tsuki following suit, and they walked together to Itachi's room. Halfway to the door to the inside of the building, Tsuki took hold of Sakura's hand. the pink-haired girl hadn't really had contact like that with someone so young before, but she quickly decided that it felt nice, and held the little girls hand.

Itachi watched them go, but did not follow. He could sense Deidara coming up to attack him. Obviously, the blond wanted a rematch.

* * *

><p>Sakura went to the bathroom to get a towel, and wet it down. She returned to the room and instructed Tsuki to sit on the bed.<p>

"Let me see your hands," she said, "First I'm going to show you how, then you'll heal your knees."

"Really?" Tsuki asked eagerly, "I'll be able to learn that fast?"

Sakura smiled at the little girl. "It took me a try or two, but considering your skill and your young age, you should be able to pick it up much faster."

Tsuki beamed up at her. "Okay! Okay! Show me how!"

Sakura laughed, and quickly got to work. She cleaned the wounds, then placed her hand on Tsuki's right palm. She explained as she went, letting the little girl know what she was doing and how it was done. First she flooded her chakra through the injury, assessing all of the damage. Next, she concentrated the chakra through the broken blood vessels, repairing damaged capillaries. Finally, she ran her chakra through the little girls skin, speeding up the process of regrowing skin cells.

"And that's all there is too it," Sakura said triumphantly.

"Okay, I got it!" Tsuki said, looking at her other hand.

"You think you can do it?" Sakura asked skeptically.

Tsuki nodded, and closed her eyes in concentration. Sakura observed at the little girl's hand glowed a faint green, and began to heal itself. The kunoichi smiled. Maybe she should be a teacher, _and_ a medic!

Tsuki opened her eyes, delighted with the result of her healed palm, then closed her eyes again to concentrate on her knees. When all the wounds were healed, Tsuki beamed at the medic.

"I did it!" she said sleepily. She had drained almost all of the chakra that she hadn't used to battle with Itachi.

Sakura grinned at the little girl. "You sure did!" she complimented. The tiny Uchiha smiled again, then backed up to lay down on the bed. She was asleep almost instantly.

Sakura slowly crawled off of the bed, and went to the desk. She had to write Tsunade about what had happened. She had just witnessed the fighting styles of three Akatsuki, and had to report it. But mostly, Sakura wanted to write to her shishou about the little girl. She had grown fond of her, especially with todays event. She missed Tsunade dearly, and wished she could talk to her in person. But for now, this would have to do.

Before she sent the message, she finally noticed that Itachi was in the room. She turned around and stood up. She smiled at him, "You should have seen it. She healed herself almost perfectly! She's got perfect chakra control. If she were in a village, she would be first in line to be trained as a medic."

Sakura looked over at the sleeping girl fondly, and missed the look in Itachi's eyes. He approached her, and she looked at him, worried for a second that she may have said or done something wrong. But he wasn't mad. He reached out and touched her cheek softly, and Sakura blushed fiercely from his touch.

"Thank you," he whispered. She didn't respond. She was too busy holding her breath.

Itachi lowered his hand and turned away from her. He took off his shirt and climbed into the bed with Tsuki.

Sakura took a moment to compose herself, then went to the bathroom. She had a tiny mental breakdown.

"Gods," she whispered to herself. This couldn't be happening. Itachi was... well, Itachi. She couldn't let herself like him, even a little. And she most certainly couldn't go _there _with him.

She ran cold water over her face to calm herself down, then slowly walked out of the bathroom. Itachi was awake on the bed, and he looked at her when she stepped out. She tried to avoid his stare, but failed and made direct eye contact with him. They gazed into each others eyes for a few moments, before Sakura turned away, blushing, and laid down on her cot.

Several hours passed before either of them slept.


	5. An Agreement

For the next few days, Sakura was bored out of her mind. Itachi and Kisame would spar often, which Sakura enjoyed watching, but other than that there was nothing to do. The Akatsuki base was incredibly boring.

Well, not _everything_ was boring. Itachi was acting strange around Sakura. After he had touched her that night, it was like a barrier between them had been removed. He would touch her every so often, and though these feather light touches were never as intimate as that initial caress, they still made Sakura's stomach flutter with a feeling she didn't quite understand.

But more intense that that was the way he would stare at her. She had only caught these looks a few times, but when she did he wouldn't look away. Instead, he would gaze into her eyes, his sharingan strikingly beautiful. She felt like he was trying to tell her something, but she just couldn't figure out what it was.

To distract herself, Sakura taught Tsuki a children's card game that she and Naruto liked to play. It was called Manko, and it was literally the simplest game in the world. One player puts down a card, and the other player tries to flip it over with the wind from putting their card down. If the card doesn't flip, the first player takes the cards, and if it does, the second player takes the cards. Whoever ends up with all of the cards wins.

The game was childish, and a little boring to Sakura, but Tsuki, who had never played games before, was having a lot of fun. The young girl was definitely an Uchiha - good at everything she tried to do. She had beat Sakura every time they played.

It was right after one of these many victories that things ceased to be boring.

Itachi came in the room as Tsuki was celebrating her victory. The little girl looked at her father and frowned at the way he was looking at her. She had learned to read his intense gazes, and she knew all to well what they meant.

"You have a mission?" she asked. The older Uchiha nodded and she frowned more. "How long this time?"

"A few weeks," her father answered.

She sighed, turning to Sakura. "Are you going too?"

Sakura felt a little left out of the conversation. She hadn't known that he would be assigned to missions. She thought his only mission was to find and capture Naruto. She hoped to the gods that she would not be accompanying the Akatsuki nin.

"Yes," Itachi answered. Sakura's stomach tied into a knot.

Tsuki sighed once more. She gave her father a tight hug and then left the room.

Sakura waited until the girl was gone before she spoke. "I can't go with you," she said, "I just can't, I can't watch what horrible things you Akatsuki assholes do."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You have no choice. Leader wishes to speak with you. Come," and with that he turned on his heal and left the room, Sakura running to catch up with him.

* * *

><p>"You are to remain in Itachi's supervision throughout the duration of this mission. If you cause any trouble, you will be punished severely," he narrowed his gaze, staring at her to make a promise behind his next threat, "I should warn you that Akatsuki is well versed in torture methods. Especially Itachi. There are worse things than death, kunoichi."<p>

There was something about the Akatsuki leader that scared the shit out of Sakura, and she only nodded, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Leader turned his attention to Itachi and Kisame. "You will leave tonight. It should take around a month to monitor all of the transactions."

The two S class criminals nodded at Leader, and Sakura realized they were dismissed. Itachi placed his hand on the small of Sakura's back and led her out of the room and back to his. The contact, after Leader had threatened her so blatantly, finally drove Sakura over the edge.

As soon as they were in the security of Itachi's room, she pushed his hand away and glared at him. He stared back at her, a little confused, although she couldn't tell.

"Look, Uchiha, I don't know what kind of game your playing with me, but I'm sick of it! I can't deal with..." she couldn't find a word for it, "whatever _this_ is, and keep my cover of 'scared hostage'. And I'm not really a hostage, we're a team on a mission, so you shouldn't be fooling around with me. Just stop..."

Sakura was cut off when Itachi placed his hands on her waist.

"...this," she finished, quieter than her initial rant.

"I don't play games, kunoichi," Itachi said quietly. He ran his hands up and down her sides. She brought her hands to his chest, but couldn't bring herself to push.

"Then what are you doing?" she questioned.

Itachi's hands stopped at her hips and he looked straight into her eyes. Sakura audibly gasped to see that his eyes were not the breathtaking red of the sharingan. They were a beautiful charcoal color, and the young kunoichi found herself lost in them. Itachi sighed and, to Sakura's surprise, shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Sakura glared at him and pushed his hands away. "Well you need to figure it out and do something about it," she turned and walked into the bathroom. She needed to cool off, and that was the only place she could find some privacy.

She slammed the door, turned away from it and sunk to the floor to have a tiny mental breakdown. Itachi was getting inside her head. She was upset about that little interaction, but all she could think about was how strangely pleasant that feeling was.

A wave of emotion washed over her, drowning her under the pressure of conflicting thought and ideas. She sure as hell didn't love the bastard, but she no longer hated him. She had to admit that she adore Tsuki, but that couldn't possibly cause her to feel such a strong pull to the feel of his fingers.

She shuddered. She had never been touched like that before, so she didn't know how she would have reacted if anyone other than the intimidating Akatsuki had done it. Sure, she had made out with Naruto before, but she was beyond drunk, and his hands never left her shoulders.

She stood up and looked in the mirror. She was still as red as a tomato. She turned on the faucet, and washed her face, wishing that it would clean away the red. But it didn't. She sat back down on the floor, and went over the incident in her head, again and again. Every time she played it over, she felt less and less against the though of his hands on her.

Before she realized it, she had spent half an hour in the bathroom. And in that time, she had become an infatuated teenager all over again. Only this time, it was a much more attractive Uchiha.

* * *

><p>Itachi was concerned. Well, for him. She had been in the bathroom for a while, and it didn't look like she would be coming out any time soon.<p>

He had meant what he said earlier. He wasn't sure what he felt about Sakura, or why he was initiating such contact. He had assumed earlier that it was because of Tsuki, but could no longer rationalize that. All he was certain of was that he would really like to touch her again.

He knew Kisame would be expecting to leave soon, so he gathered his things, distracting himself from musing on about Sakura. When he was done, he decided to gather Sakura's things as well. He had learned a little about her personality, and had discovered that she was a complete neat freak. She folded her clothes immediately after removing them, separated them into piles of 'clean' and 'dirty', and never left any of her things in the bathroom. Itachi suddenly wondered what she was doing in there, without her toiletries, for so long. Surely, she couldn't be sitting in there doing nothing. (And technically, she wasn't. She was in there freaking out.)

The Uchiha couldn't tell which of her piles was which, so he placed both piles into her pack, followed by her medical journals, which were stacked neatly on the desk she had claimed as her own. He wasn't sure if she would want the Manko deck, so he threw it in there, just in case.

He was about to knock on the bathroom door when Sakura decided to come out, looking a little embarrassed.

Itachi handed the pack to her. She took it without a word.

"I apologize," the mass-murderer said, impulsively and without much thought.

Sakura met his eyes. To his surprise, she didn't look mad. She walked toward him, and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "Just not in public, okay?" she compromised.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. What? Hadn't she just exploded on him a half hour ago? What was she _doing_ in that bathroom? But he disregarded his negative thoughts, closing his fingers around her, and nodding in agreement. The young woman smiled at him, and he surprised her by smiling back.

Sakura took that moment to scrutinize him openly. She realized that she'd never really _looked_ at him. Of course she had _seen_ him, and she knew that he was attractive, but she had never taken a moment to really study his handsome features. His face was pale, and thin, but in no means pathetic. He looked much like his younger brother, but somehow more masculine. His eyes were almost always clad in the red of the sharingan, and she realized that she liked them better when they plain and beautiful. And then there was his smile. So rare, and so beautiful. It completed his face, she thought, and she suddenly decided to be the cause of it more often.

The moment was ruined by a harsh, loud pounding on the door. He dropped her hand, and opened it, gesturing for her to follow.

"Let's get this show on the road," Kisame said, his voice carrying a sort of humor only he could manage. Sakura smiled at the shark man. She had really begun to like him. The smile faded. That was not a good thing.

If Kisame noticed, he didn't let on to it. The three ninja headed for what Sakura guessed was the main entrance.

"Wait!" a little voice called from behind.

Itachi turned, recognizing his daughters voice, and she practically jumped into his arms.

"Come back," she said. It wasn't a plea, Sakura noticed. It was just their usual parting words.

"I will," the older Uchiha promised. He set her down, and the little girl turned to Sakura, hugging the woman's legs. She turned to Kisame, and - much to Sakura's amusement - fist-bumped him. Then she waved, one last time, and returned to her room without another word.

Sakura wanted to follow her. To stay with the little girl and wait for Itachi to come back. But she couldn't.

The three shinobi set off again, without further interruption.


	6. Missing

Tsunade sat at her desk, sipping her coffee, with a sad edge to her eyes. Naruto would be there any second. Probably others as well. By now, surely, the whole village knew.

Sakura had been gone a month, and her friends and teammates were getting curious. That morning, a messenger arrived from Suna to inform the Hokage that the medic sent to help with their hospitals had never arrived. Ino, having taken over for Sakura in her absence, had overheard the messenger, and, as was expected of her, told anyone who would listen. Garra knew of Sakura's mission, of course, but Tsunade had to admit, it was better than having to personally tell Naruto.

So there she sat, waiting for her office to fill with outraged Konoha shinobi and hospital staff. She told herself that she could handle it, but wondered if Naruto would break her.

It was time to find out. There was a pounding at the door, loud and obnoxious and coming from a certain blond.

"Come in," she barely finished before her office doors burst open. Tsunade hadn't expected it to be only Naruto. "Yes?" she pried, feigning offense.

"What happened?" he asked, strangely calm.

"Ino didn't tell you?" Tsunade asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes," he admitted, "But I need the official statement."

Tsunade sighed and looked at the paper in front of her, reading it aloud. "Haruno Sakura, Konoha shinobi, jounin class, and head of the Konoha hospital, has gone missing."

Naruto sat down. "I was hoping Ino was lying."

Tsunade frowned. "Me too." The two blonds stared at each other for a moment. Naruto opened his mouth, but Tsunade cut him off. "No."

"What?"

"You're not going after her," she clarified.

Naruto glared at the woman. "Yes, I am," he shot back.

Tsunade stood, "Naruto, I understand, believe me, I do," she sighed, "But I cannot let you leave this village. It's a very strong possibility that she was kidnapped by an Akatsuki in order to lure you to them."

"So? They can't beat me!" He yelled.

The Hokage glared at him. "Yes, they can," she told him.

They stared each other down. Finally, Naruto sighed.

"Her birthday is in two weeks," he said, more to himself than to anyone, "Do you know how long Ino has been planning that surprise party? She'll be twenty..."

Tsunade sighed. "I know," she said.

Naruto shook his head. "You are going to do something... right?"

The Hokage nodded, "Of course. I'm sending a a team led by Shikamaru tomorrow to investigate. If they come up with any leads, a team of our finest shinobi will be sent after her." But there wouldn't be any leads.

Naruto nodded, turned and left, slamming the door after him.

Tsunade sat. Her coffee was now cold, but it sat still forgotten on her desk. She hadn't cried since Jiriya had died. It was about time to have a private little meltdown.


	7. White Day

The Akatsuki traveled hard and fast. Sakura had never run so vigorously in her life. Even when Itachi slowed down the pace ("There's no need to rush," he rationalized.) she still had trouble keeping up.

When they finally reached their destination, Sakura was more than excited to see an expensive looking hotel. She tried to breath in the fanciness of it as they walked in, but realized that no amount of elegance could wipe away the sweat and grime on her skin. She suddenly felt really dirty.

"Welcome!" the hotel attendant greeted, "We have your rooms all set up for you, but," she looked at Sakura, "I wasn't aware that there would be three of you. There's only two rooms."

"Two is fine," Itachi said. Sakura blushed and Kisame eyed him thoughtfully.

"Perfect!" the attendant said, "It's so lovely of you to bring your lady with you on the job. I suppose it's the occasion of white day tomorrow?"

Sakura twitched at first. She didn't like the woman's label of 'your lady.' And then she realized. March 14th?

Itachi glared daggers at the woman, and she dropped the subject, leading them to their rooms. "Have a nice stay!" She said pleasantly, handing Itachi the room keys.

"Have you to been getting to know each other?" Kisame joked. Itachi turned his glare on the shark man.

"She's my hostage," he said simply, "Privacy is not a courtesy I plan to extend to her."

Sakura took a tiny breath of relief. He had thought it through.

Kisame shrugged. "Whatever," and then he took the key to his room and left the to Konoha shinobi to they're own devices.

Itachi open their suite and held open the door for the kunoichi. She laughed a little at the chivalrous gesture, but walked in and nearly collapsed face-down on the bed.

Itachi smirked at her, "They're going easy on the jounin exam, I see."

Sakura's "Screw you," was muffled by the sheets. She turned over and sat up, taking off her pack before looking around. The bed was against the middle of the wall opposite the door. A nice big comfy chair occupied the left corner, and along the right wall was a nicer, bigger comfy couch. Next to the chair were two doors, one leading to a bathroom, the other leading to the closet. Finally, right next to the entrance door, was a desk.

She had never been in such a nice hotel room before, but she couldn't help but notice it was a little... lived in. The closet and bathroom doors were slightly ajar, and the desk was covered in papers. She turned and noticed that the bed was slightly disheveled, more than it would be from simply jumping on it like she had. She looked at Itachi.

"What is this, your home away from home?" she asked, putting together the pieces.

Itachi shrugged, "We get sent here a lot. I'm polite enough to demand the respect of the businessmen, and Kisame is scary enough to gain the respect of the thugs."

Sakura nodded, "It's like a match made in heaven," she joked. He smiled one of his tiny smiles, and she beamed back at him.

He took a moment to stare at her. He had recognized that she was a pretty girl when he had first seen her, years ago. But she had grown into a beautiful woman. She didn't wear the bright reds that contrasted with her hair, but a deeper shade of scarlet that complimented it. She still wore hair cropped at her jawline, but it had grown out since he had kidnapped her. It was at her shoulders now, and he decided that he liked it longer.

She blushed under his gaze and turned away. She was tired. She looked at the clock. It was 11:50pm, and she decided that it was time to go to sleep. Suddenly, she noticed that there was only one bed. Sure, they had agreed on some kind of a relationship, but that didn't mean he would be willing to share a bed with her.

"So..." she began.

"Yes?"

"There's only one bed," she said after a pause.

"Yes."

"...So, how is that going to affect our sleeping arrangements?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not understanding."

Sakura raised her hands above her head, jumping up, "I'VE STUMPED AND UCHIHA! VICTORY IS MINE!" she cheered. Itachi almost laughed. Almost. "But seriously, what don't you get?"

"Are we not... together?" he asked, awkwardly.

"Well, I guess, but," she sighed, "I don't know about you, but usually you don't climb into bed with someone you've been in a relationship with for about five hours."

Itachi looked at the sofa, "I don't mind using the couch, if it bothers you that much."

Sakura sighed. "It doesn't _really_ bother me," she confessed, "It's just... I'm new to this."

Itachi turned his gaze back to her. "What makes you think I'm not?"

Sakura laughed, "Tsuki kinda gave it away."

"Oh," Itachi smirked at her, "You mean you're a virgin."

Sakura blushed furiously, "Well, duh," Itachi chuckled quietly, and Sakura stood up, suddenly angry, "Excuse me for being to focused on my career to care about men."

Itachi was intrigued by that. "How little have you done?" he asked. Sakura knew he wasn't mocking her anymore. He was just asking.

She turned away before answering. "A drunken make out session with my best friend," she admitted, "But sober... nothing." _Dammit,_ she thought. He probably wasn't very interested in the first place, but now? Whatever they had agreed on was certainly gone.

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. He stepped towards the girl and took her hand. She looked at him, surprised. "What-" he put a hand on her mouth, stopping her question. He stared into those emerald orbs, memorizing every facet of them. He deactivated his sharingan, and he saw her smile. He looked at her lips. And then he kissed them.

It wasn't hot, and heated, and lustful, but neither was it just a light friendly peck. It was perfect. He was obviously in control, but she had no objections. She didn't really know what she was doing anyway.

When their lips finally parted, neither opened their eyes, both trying to remember every detail of the kiss. He was still holding her hand, and his other hand had found her waist. It was the perfect amount of touch for her. Finally, they opened their eyes. Sakura noticed Itachi's flash towards the clock.

"Happy White Day," he said. Sakura looked at the clock. It was 12:01 am. March 14th. She laughed, and could have sworn that he laughed a little too.


	8. Not as She Seems

Sakura awoke the next morning more comfortable than she had been in a month. Not only had she slept in a proper bed, but she had slept curled up next to a very attractive, very warm Uchiha Itachi. He was awake, and probably knew that she was awake as well, so she didn't worry about bothering him as she stretched.

"Good morning," Itachi greeted her.

She looked at him and smiled. "Hi."

He sat up and looked at her. "Now that wasn't so terrible, was it?" he teased. Sakura pushed him off of the bed.

"You're an ass, you know that?"

Itachi stood, "So I've been told." He walked to the bathroom. "Kisame and I have work to do, so get yourself ready for a long day."

"Great," she answered sarcastically, and as Itachi disappeared into the bathroom, she reluctantly crawled out of bed. She swore, realizing that Itachi had packed for her, but was surprised to see all of her belongings. Including the Manko deck. She frowned, thinking that perhaps she should have left it with Tsuki.

She pulled out a clean set of clothing and changed. She realized that Itachi could have come out at any moment, but instead of making her shy or nervous, it made her insides flutter. She shook her head, focusing on the task that was at hand, and then pulled out a brush and did what she could with her messed up hair. It was longer now, because she hadn't been able to cut it. She didn't mind long hair, but what that sound kunoichi had said to her, years ago, still bothered her. Long hair was a distraction, and so she gave it up.

Itachi came out of the bathroom.

"Can I borrow a kunai?" Sakura asked.

"Why?" he replied.

"Because all of mine were confiscated," she answered.

He rolled his eyes, "I am aware. But why do you need a kunai?"

"Just to trim my hair," she ran her fingers through it, and walked over to the bathroom.

"No," Itachi answered, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?" she was confused. "I'm not going to turn around and attack you."

"I know," he reassured her, "But I like it longer."

Sakura blushed. Itachi seemed to have an obsession with hair. His was long, Tsuki's was long, and now he wanted hers to be long? She smirked.

"Seems to me like someone's got a strange little fetish, huh?" she teased.

He smirked right back at her, "And what would you know about fetishes? Virgin."

That wiped the smirk off of her face. She turned, suddenly angry, and shut the door to the bathroom. "Asshole," she muttered.

"I heard that," Itachi acknowledged.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't respond. She took care of her business, thinking the whole time about his little comment.

It was a little sad that she was almost twenty, and still a virgin. Then she realized. It was white day. Two more weeks, and it would be her birthday. She sighed, washed her hands and face, and exited the bathroom.

Itachi stood at the door, holding a kunai. He handed it to her. She took it, and stared at it. It wasn't really a loving gesture, but she knew he had done it because he had made her angry. She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, being mindful of the kunai. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could.

"I apologize," he said, "I'm not used to... this, either."

She nodded against his neck, but said nothing. She could stay there forever, wrapped in his strong arms.

But the moment was ruined by a harsh pounding at the door. "We're going to be late," Kisame declared from the hallway.

The embrace fell apart, and Sakura handed him back the kunai.

"I guess it can get a little longer," she compromised. It made him smile, and Sakura suddenly decided that she really wanted her long hair back anyway.

Itachi went to the door, and opened it. Kisame nodded in greeting and walked away, towards what Sakura guessed was their mission site. Itachi made to follow, but quickly turned, pulling Sakura towards him and kissed her for a moment. It was quick, but somehow held just as much emotion as their first kiss, and Sakura smiled at him in thanks.

Then they headed off.

* * *

><p>Sakura was nervous already. She didn't want to see either of them torture anyone, but if Itachi had to, she knew that she could not stop him. She would just have to tell herself it was all part of his act, which it was. The nerves increased when they got to the manor in which Itachi and Kisame's meeting was. It was filled with thugs. Lots and lots of them. Sakura prayed that Itachi would not be separated from her.<p>

When the three shinobi reached the room of the head of transactions, the man came to greet them outside of the office.

"Welcome! Welcome!" he greeted, "Always nice to see you, Itachi-san, Kisame-san!" He turned to Sakura, "And who is this?"

No one answered.

The man shrugged. "I suppose it's not my place to know, however, she will not be allowed to accompany us into my office."

Itachi nodded, "That's fine, but be aware that she is more than likely going to cause serious damage to your staff, should anyone mess with her."

The man looked at Sakura, and she smiled, sweetly, yet creepily. He shuddered. "That's not a problem."

The man rushed back into the room, jabbering on about how honored he was to see the two Akatsuki. Kisame followed, but Itachi stayed behind for a second. He brushed his hand along Sakura's, and she gave him a small smile. Then he followed his partner into the office.

The man was still chatting on incessantly. He was always like this, always assuming that the two Akatsuki actually care about what small talk he had to offer. Nothing he could possibly have said would interest Itachi. Kisame, however, had something very interesting to say.

"You know leader won't approve of that," he warned. Itachi tensed, but didn't respond. "You don't have to hide it from me, but I suggest you don't do to many little things like that back at the base."

Itachi looked at the older man, almost glaring. "When did you find out?"

Kisame shrugged, "I knew you were into her for a while, but I didn't think you'd act on it. But then I see you makin' eyes at her, and what not, and I figured I should give my elderly advice." Itachi rolled his eyes, and Kisame smiled his toothy grin at him. "So again, make sure Leader doesn't find out," he advised, serious again.

Itachi nodded. Then, they began their meeting.

* * *

><p>Sakura looked around. She allowed herself to laugh quietly. Seven years ago, she would have been scared out of her mind. But today, she thought she just might have some fun. Itachi <em>had<em> practically asked her to embarrass the pathetic looking minions.

"What's so funny?" one of the thugs asked.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm just wondering if anyone here would have the balls to attempt to beat me at an arm wrestling match."

The man looked at her, skeptically, and she smiled sweetly at him. He laughed. "Some attitude you got there, let's have a go, shall we?" he asked. He grabbed a table that was obviously for decoration, and not meant to be wrestled on, but Sakura didn't really care. She wouldn't not be to blame. The thug put his elbow down on the Table, and Sakura followed suit, taking the man's hand. "I'll try to go easy on you," he promised.

Sakura smirked, "Same here."

He glared at her. "Three, Two, One!" She smashed his hand into the table, cracking the top a bit. "What the hell?"

Other thugs laughed, and Sakura brushed her hands off on her medic skirt. "Anyone else?" she offered the room.

* * *

><p>Itachi and Kisame were growing more and more frustrated. Four hours had passed, and so far they had only learned that the corporation was not doing well. The man had not told them everything they wanted to know, either. He was especially reluctant to give out information regarding money.<p>

"I don't have an exact number," he told them for the sixth time, "But I promise you we are not taking advantage of the help of your members. We are turning a profit, we just need a few more weeks before that profit will be acceptable, for us, to tell you."

Kisame sighed. He was getting to old for this. "Look, I don't want to cause a scene, but if I have to kill some people for you to start being more productive, I will."

The little man laughed, a result of nerves, "No, no! There will be no need for casualties!"

Itachi stood, "You have one week to give us an acceptable number. Or you will no longer be on the protection of Akatsuki."

"In fact," Kisame added, standing as well, "You might just end up on our own personal hit list."

The man gulped, "Understood."

The two Akatsuki left the office. And entered what looked like the most badass example of an arm wrestling tournament. There was a huge pile of money in a bag next to the table, which Itachi guessed was the bet money.

Itachi glared at the pink haired kunoichi, who was more than likely the cause of the battle, but he had to admit that he was impressed. He imagined that if he allowed it, she would stay there all day, showing off to the thugs.

Sakura won another match against a man who had to be at least twice her size, and the crowd around them cheered. Sakura cheered as well, turning to high five her new friends, and saw Itachi, glaring at her. She frowned slightly. The fun was over.

"Well boys," she began, "As much fun as this has been, it's time for me to leave-"

To her surprise, Kisame stopped her, "Not so fast," he walked over to the other side of the (now ruined) table and placed his elbow down. "Chakra, or no?"

Sakura smirked at him. "No chakra," she responded, taking her battle stance.

One of the minions, who had apparently been elected referee, counted down, and the battle began. Both shinobi's arms tensed, but didn't seem to move. On Sakura's side there were cheers, rooting for her, and on Kisame's side there was complete and utter silence, caused either by awe, or by fear. Itachi shook his head at the childishness, and headed for the door. They would just have to catch up.

Sakura bit her lip in concentration. _Finally! _she thought, _A _real_ opponent!_

Kisame seemed to be focusing just as much, but Sakura noticed that she was beginning to get the upper hand. The Shark-nin's arm was leaning ever so slightly to her victory.

Then, suddenly, her hand hit the table, and with a crack, the table was destroyed. The kunoichi glared at the Akatsuki. He had broken the 'no chakra' rule. "Cheater!" she yelled, turning and following Itachi. Kisame bowed to his new fans, and left after the girl, grabbing the winnings bag as he left.

Sakura caught up to Itachi. He looked at her, and she knew that she had, well, fucked-up. "I'm sorry, okay?" she apologized.

He sighed. "You realize I'm trying to conduct business with these people, right?" he asked, an obvious edge to his voice.

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Kisame caught up with them, and Sakura glared at him again. Kisame shrugged, "I couldn't get beaten by a girl in front of people I'm supposed to be intimidating the shit out of," he rationalized. She rolled her eyes. He handed her the bag of winnings, and walked ahead of them. She stared after him, and wondered why Itachi didn't pick up the pace to walk with his partner.

She handed the money to Itachi. "I don't need it," she answered his unasked question, "And I'm a hostage, so you'd probably have taken it anyway."

Itachi looked at her for a moment, his previous anger all but forgotten. He put the money in a pocket in his robe, and took the girls hand.

Sakura looked at their hands, then at him. "Uh, I thought we had agreed-"

"Kisame already knows," he interrupted, "And everyone else in the village suspects that we are together anyway."

Sakura didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually closed her hand around his. "Still, we had an agreement," she argued, jokingly.

He looked at her, his tiny smile present, "I don't see you objecting."

She smiled back at him. "I'm not," she responded. They walked in silence for a while. Kisame was out of sight now, and Sakura guessed that he had gone to the hotel. Then she realized that they had already passed it. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Itachi shrugged. "It's white day, I figured you'd like to go to a restaurant, instead of take out."

Sakura smiled. "You don't have to do this kind of stuff," she told him. He looked at her. "Boyfriend stuff, I mean."

Itachi stopped walking, and she halted as well. "Are you so against this that you wouldn't like being seen in public?" he asked.

"No," she answered, "I just don't want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable."

He stared into her eyes. "And...?" he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth.

She turned away. "And... There are certain people that I would _really_ not like to know about us."

"Who?"

She paused a moment. "Madara," she answered. He knew she told the truth.

He sighed. "I won't let him find out," he squeezed her hand, "I promise."

Sakura smiled at him, "So, where are you taking me?"

He shrugged. She sighed, looking around. She pointed out a Ramen stand, and though Itachi was a little disapproving at first, that was where they ate.

Sakura ordered for them, telling Itachi that she was an expert at ramen, and they ate quietly. It was strange for Sakura. She was used to Naruto, who ate the same way he did everything; loud and obnoxiously.

When they were both done, the headed back to the hotel. Itachi didn't take hold of her hand this time, but they walked close. The hostess greeted them, entirely too happily, and the two headed to their room.

Sakura went to go to the bathroom, but Itachi caught her arm and pulled her in for a kiss. She didn't resist, but neither did she respond, and Itachi broke away to stare at her.

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Another sigh, and a pause before she answered, "I miss Konoha."

He understood. He put his arms around her waist and rested his head in the crook of her neck. "I know," he responded, whispering into her skin.

The soft words made Sakura shiver. She wrapped her hands around his neck, spreading her fingers through his soft hair. "I just want to be home," she continued, "Naruto probably knows I've been captured by now. He's probably insane with worry, which means that Hinata's also insane with worry. Tsunade's probably having to deal with everything I left behind at the hospital. Ino's going to be crushed when I miss my birthday."

He pulled back so that he could see her face, but kept her in his embrace. He lifted a hand to her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "I'll get you home," he promised. Sakura looked into his eyes, a soft charcoal instead of that bright crimson. She smiled and lifted her face to his, initiating a kiss for the first time.

He reciprocated immediately, and Sakura could feel something was different. This kiss was more passionate than the last ones, and Sakura quickly became absorbed in it. His hand moved to the small of her back, pulling her in, while his other hand traveled to her neck. She thought for a moment that she should be afraid that a serial murderer had his hand on her throat, but all realized quickly that she didn't care.

She was so focused on the kiss that she didn't even realize that Itachi was moving her until her knees hit the edge of the mattress. She nearly fell on the bed, Itachi tumbling after her. They only broke the embrace for a moment.

When their lips met again, Sakura was delightfully surprised to feel Itachi's tongue slide across her lower lip. She met it with her own, and they fought for dominance before Sakura gave up all control.

His kiss made her insides melt, and she wondered if she was having the same effect on him. She his left hand travel from her waist up her side, leaving gooseflesh where he touched.

Suddenly, Sakura panicked. She had never been in a situation like this before, on a bed, under a man with his hand nearing private sections of her body. And while she enjoyed it, she wasn't quite sure if she could let him get to second base so easily.

"Itachi," she objected, but he pressed his lips more forcefully against hers. His hand was under her arm now, an inch away from a spot where Sakura had never been touched. "Itachi," she tried again, giving a tiny push on his chest.

He sighed, parting from her, and looked in her eyes. She noticed the lust clouding his eyes, but didn't look away. "We're moving too fast," she confessed.

He stared into her innocent face. She was so young, so pure. He sighed again, and rolled off of her, sitting up on the bed. She sat up as well and, feeling bad about breaking up their little make up session, took his hand in hers. He looked at their hands.

"You're right," he agreed. She smiled at him, and he met her gaze. He studied her face for a moment. He realized that she had a rather large forehead, and kissed it impulsively. Sakura laughed, but didn't object. He pulled back again, staring at their still interlocked hands.

Sakura locked her fingers between his. "Can we keep making out?" she asked. He smirked at her, but complied almost instantly.


End file.
